Pipe-wrench.



No. 738,216. PATENTED SEPT. 8, 1903. W. LITTLEY.

PIPE WRENCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 4. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

UNTTED STATES Patented September 8, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

PIPE-WRENCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 738,216, dated September 8, 1903.

Application filed March 4, 1903.

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, VILLIAM L1TTLEY,a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulPipe-IVrench, of which the following is a speeication.

My invention relates to wrenches, and especially to that class known as pipewrenches,77 and has for its objects to provide a device of this character which will be simple of construction, efficient in operation, and one which may be readily adjusted for operating upon pipes of varying sizes.

To these ends the invention comprises the novel details of construction and combination of parts more fully hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wrench constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional elevation through the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. f1 is a perspective view of the removable head-block.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the head-section of my improved wrench, which is made up of a pair ol' side sections 2 and 3, which when assembled lie with their inner faces meeting, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 3. This section comprises a shank or body portion 4 and a forwardly-extending rigid arm 5, which is substantially semicircular in horizontal section. The body portion 4i has an enlarged rear portion which is centrally recessed to receive thc inner ends of handle members 6, which are pivoted at their forward ends in the head, as at '7. These members, which are adapted for an inward-and-outward swinging movement on their pivots, have the inner adjacent faces of their forward ends enlarged to form lateral lugs or tenons 8, the active faces of which are rounded and engage in semicireular lateral recesses 0, formed near the rear end of the shank portion of a longitudinally-slidable gripping member 10,which is mounted in a central longitudinal channel.

11, formed by corin g out or recessingthe inner meeting faces ol' the side sections 2 3, which are similarly cored or recessed to form the concavity in the rear enlarged portion of the head, which receives the forward ends of the handle members. The gripping member 10 Serial No. 146,165. (No model.)

has a lateral enlarged gripping-head 12,A the outer face of which may be suitably serrated or toothed for biting' into a pipe during the operation of the device and which normally projects within the radius of the semicircular pipe-receiving recesses 13,formed by the semieircular curvature of arm 5.

14 indicates a head-block removably mounted upon the arm 5. This head-block is substantially rectangular in side elevation and has its outer face semicircularly recessed, as at 15, and its rear face recessed, as at 1G, to form rearwardly-extending side iianges 17, which when the block is in position on the arm 5 seat in recesses 18, formed in the outer side face of the latter, as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The head-block 14 serves as a seat for a pipe when operated upon by the wrench, and in practice the pipe will lie within the recess 15 and be iirmly gripped between the same and the movable gripping member 10. In this connection it is to be understood that the removable head-block can only be inserted upon and removed from the arm 5 in a straight line transversely of the same, owing to the rectangular form of the block and the similar conformation of the lateral recesses 18, which receive and serve as a guide for the `Vsame, and that the block can consequently only be inserted or removed when the gripping member 10 is in a fully-retracted -position, attained byopening or spreadingthe handle members 6. Thus it will be obvious that the gripping member acts as a stop to prevent the accidental escape of the head-block from the arm.

In operation the gripping member 10 is actuated by the opening and closing of the members G, as above described, and when it is desired to grasp a pipe with the wrench the handle members are opened to retract the member, and after the pipe has been properly seated in the recess 15 the members are again closed to move the member 10 to gripping position, from which it will be seen that the greater the pressure applied to the handle members the greater will be the gripping action of the member 10. In practice it is my intention to provide for each'wrench a number of the removable head-blocks 11, having recesses 15 of varying sizes in order to properly accommodate various-sized pipes, and

IOO

while all ot' these head-blocks will be of a uniform size to fit in the recesses 18 the sizes of the outer faces of the blocks, which contain recesses 15,Will be varied by beveling the front outer corner of the block, as at 19.

From the foregoing it Will be seen that I produce a simple and efficient device Which in practice may be readily adjusted for operation upon pipes of varying sizes by the simple interchanging of the head-blocks 14, and in attaining these ends it is to be noted that I do not limit myself to the precise details of construction herein shown and described, inasmuch as minor changes may be made therein Without departing` from the spirit or scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is- 1. In a Wrench,the combination with a headsection having a iiXed arm provided with lateral recesses, of handle members pivotally associated With the head-section, a longitudinally-movable gripping member operable by the handle, and a removable head-block sustained by the fixed arm and provided with iianges seated in the recesses, said gripping member being normally extended in the path of the head-block to prevent escape of the same from the arm.

2. In a Wrench, the combination with a head` section, of handle members pivotally associated therewith, tenons carried by the handle members, a longitudinally-movable gripping member provided with recesses which receive the tenons, and a removable head-block associated with the head-section.

3. In a Wrencl1,tl1e combination With a headsection provided with a longitudinal channel, of a longitudinally-movable gripping member seated in the channel and provided with lateral recesses, handle members pivotally associated with the head-section and provided with tenons engaging the lateral recesses of the gripping' member for operating the latter, and a removable head-block associated With the head-section.

et. In a Wrench,the combination with a headsection provided With a longitudinal channel and an enlarged recessed rear portion, of a longitudinally movable gripping member seated in the channel and provided with lateral recesses, handle members having their forward ends pivotallymounted in the enlarged recessed portion of the head-section and provided with tenons engaging the lateral recesses of the gripping member for operating the latter, and a removable head-block associated with the head-section.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

VVILLIADI LITTLEY.

W'itnesses: l

WALTER S. HAYES, GEORGE W. FRANKS. 

